Image credit: Ashraf Amra, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 igo
The current famine in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis in the wider Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) have been directly caused by the brutal conflict, which began in October 2023, and exacerbated by Israel’s subsequent restrictions on aid distribution. However, the reliance on humanitarian assistance, did not begin in 2023. Since Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza the Palestinian economy has been systematically weakened, leaving it structurally dependent on Israel and international aid. The escalation of violence since October 2023 transformed an already fragile situation into an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
Humanitarian and Economic Situation Prior to October 2023
Subsequent to the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel assumed economic management of Palestine, including the strategic control of key economic sectors and infrastructure. Economic pressure increased even further, especially in Gaza, after 2007, when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s systematic manipulation of the Palestinian economy led to the essential economic non-competition and a near total reliance on Israel and the international community.
The Agricultural economy, which was the largest contributor to Palestinian GDP prior to occupation, was intentionally disrupted, with devastating effects on agricultural output. Israel also assumed absolute state ownership of all water resources, further restricting the agricultural sector and access to drinking water. Fisheries in the Gaza Strip have faced significant restrictions, with Israel limiting the distance off the coast where fishing is permitted, undermining both the economic viability of fishing and access to an essential food source. Pre-existing electricity-generating infrastructure was destroyed; therefore, electricity in the OPT quickly became reliant on Israel’s National Grid. Moreover, the Gaza Power Plant, built in 2002, runs on industrial diesel fuel imported via Israel, leaving it extremely vulnerable to supply restrictions and has been historically targeted in conflicts, leaving little Palestinian autonomy over Gaza’s power infrastructure. Alongside production constraints, trade and labour restrictions further entrenched economic dependence.
The systematic degradation of the Palestinian economy, combined with restrictions designed to induce dependence on Israel, resulted in 72% of all Palestinian trade being conducted with Israel in the year before the current conflict began. The collapse of key industries led to food insecurity, mass unemployment, and a reliance on international aid. Prior to October 2023, the number of people dependent on international humanitarian assistance was 40% across the OPT, including 80% in Gaza.
Humanitarian Aid Situation: October 2023 – January 2025
The intensified conflict subsequent to the events of October 7th 2023, had immediate and dramatic effects on the already overstretched economy as well as the dependence on international humanitarian assistance. As the main stronghold of Hamas, Gaza became the primary target of Israeli military operations, by the end of 2023, just a few months into the conflict, the World Food Programme reported that Gaza’s entire population – roughly 2.2 million people – faced crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity. Six months after the start of the conflict 3.3 million people across the OPT required humanitarian assistance.
Data, covering aid coordinated through the UN Logistics Cluster, shows that between October 2023 and January 2025, 49,774 truckloads entered Gaza through 7 different routes, each open for varying amounts of days, due to repeated blockades by Israel. Concerningly, Kerem Shalom was the only crossing open for over half the period (349 days), handling 27,532 truckloads. Rafah, open for less than 40% of the time, allowed just over 11,000 truckloads, while Erez West, open for 137 days, received 5795 Truckloads. The other four crossings: Erez, Gate 96, the Floating Dock, and Kissufim, were open for fewer than 100 days each, with Kissufim open for only 6 of the possible 450 days.
Aid deliveries peaked in April, averaging 189 truckloads per day, whilst October was the lowest with 42, both months falling devastatingly short of the 500 trucks per day that UNICEF reported as entering Gaza before the conflict began. According to the OCHA data, aid entering Gaza between the start of the conflict and January 2025 was only 22% of pre-October 2023 levels. Subsequently, By December 2024, 96% of women and children could not meet basic nutritional needs, and annually, a total of 39,296 children required treatment for acute malnutrition.
Humanitarian Aid Situation in 2025
In 2025, the humanitarian aid crisis in Gaza deteriorated further, despite a temporary ceasefire from the 19th of January to the 18th of March. During that time, UN agencies delivered 500 to 600 trucks of aid a day and enabled critical food assistance to reach over 2 million people. Furthermore, after 130 days without fuel entering the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities allowed just 2 trucks of fuel per day, which entered through Kerem Shalom. However, this is still only a fraction of what is required to run essential infrastructure.
However, this ceasefire was quickly followed by a complete blockade on Gaza, between the 2nd of March and the 18th of May, during which all border crossings were closed and no aid, including food, medicine or fuel entered Gaza. In this period, acute malnutrition among children under five years of age more than doubled.
Additionally, on the 9th of March, Israel imposed new regulations, which remain in force, governing the authorisation of international NGOs operating in Gaza and the West Bank. These regulations require organisations to meet unreasonable demands, including providing, to Israel’s authorities, the full contact details and ID numbers of all Palestinian employees. They also require the passport details of all international staff, along with those of their spouses and children. These regulations create significant safety risks for humanitarian workers, who have been continually targeted by Israel’s military forces. Consequently, most international organisations cannot comply and therefore risk being de-registered and prohibited from operating in Gaza or the West Bank.
In May 2025, Israel dismantled 400 UN aid sites that operated during the ceasefire, replacing them with four Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites. The GHF, a United States and Israel backed private aid distribution company, operates unimpeded by the restrictions other humanitarian organisations face, becoming the main distributor in areas of Gaza inaccessible to UN agencies or NGOs. However, GHF sites are heavily militarised by both IDF and private security contractors, who have become notorious for their trigger-happy practices, 2,256 deaths have occurred in the vicinity of the sites as of September 2025. The UN, as well as 240 other NGOs,have called for the closure of the GHF aid distribution mechanism.
Despite the partial easing of the blockade in May 2025, restrictions have remained stringent, and Gaza continues to receive a devastatingly insufficient amount of aid. Data provided, for all UN manifested humanitarian aid movements, including the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation, and UNICEF, exemplifies the lack of aid entering Gaza. Between the end of the siege on the 19th May and the 24th September, an average of 685 Metric tons, of which 94% was food, entered Gaza through the crossings of Kerem Shalom and Zikim (now closed since the 12th of September). Considering that since the end of July 2025, 2000 Metric tons of food supplies are required daily to meet basic humanitarian needs, only 102 tons per day, or 5%, of the necessary food supplies have actually reached those in desperate need. Unsurprisingly, on the 15th of August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, the world’s top authority on food security, declared a famine in the Gaza governorate.
As of September 2025, half a million people are starving in Gaza, while Palestinians in the West Bank face deteriorating conditions, most recently due to the installation of 27 new closures, hindering livelihoods, healthcare, education, and other essential services and contributing to worsening humanitarian conditions. Therefore, in a recent oral statement sent to the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, The Next Century Foundation called for the immediate revocation of the aforementioned regulations on NGOs introduced by Israel on the 9th of March 2025 and for the reopening and authorisation of aid to enter Gaza through all land passages.
However, no amount of aid will suffice whilst the current hostilities persist; therefore, a permanent end to the conflict is essential to save the lives of those in desperate need.
